Towards the end of his seven-hour testimony in Washington last week about BP's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Tony Hayward's face, full of resentment at the politicians who were goring him, evoked Charlie Rich's “Feel Like Going Home”.
“Lord, I feel like going home/I tried and I failed and I'm tired and weary/Everything I done was wrong/And I feel like going home.”
Unfortunately, having gone home, BP's chief executive then went out again to sail his yacht, prompting a fresh fusillade from across the Atlantic. “I think we can all conclude that Tony Hayward is not going to have a second career in PR,” said Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff.